Qing Dynasty: The Imperial Concubine is Pregnant Again

Chapter 135: Extra (Fate)

In the 25th year of Yongzheng's reign, the emperor celebrated his 55th birthday.

Yinzhen, who had a mustache, had many wrinkles on his face, but his body was still strong and healthy because he had been practicing supernatural powers for more than 20 years.

Looking at his beloved who still had her charm, he signaled to Su Peisheng beside him, and Su Peisheng took out the imperial edict that he had prepared long ago.

"The Emperor, by the Mandate of Heaven, proclaims: Today, the Qing Dynasty is prosperous, its territory has expanded several times, all nations are subservient to it, the people live and work in peace, and the ethnic groups are integrated. My son Hongzhao is both virtuous and talented, and handles all matters of state. I abdicate today and pass the throne to Crown Prince Hongzhao. I decree this!"

When the imperial edict came out, the court officials were shocked and knelt down one after another:

"Your Majesty, please think twice! Your Majesty is in the prime of life..."

Unexpectedly, Yinzhen was determined to abdicate and no matter how many people tried to stop him, it was useless. In addition, given Hongzhao's achievements over the years, no one in the court was dissatisfied.

Several of his blood brothers also went to various continents to take over their positions, and only Honghui and Hongshi remained in the Qing Dynasty.

Honghui, who was born of a legitimate wife and had the reputation of being the eldest son, was physically weak. Even after getting married, he did not give birth to a grandson of the emperor. He had no capital to compete with Hongzhao.

As for Hongshi, perhaps he inherited the timidity from his biological mother or was raised by his adoptive mother. Both his biological mother and adoptive mother had no strong background and no help.

In this way, the throne was passed securely to Hong Zhao.

Inside Yikun Palace.

Tong Nuanyan, whose face was still smooth and wrinkle-free, looked at the two people in front of her with gentle eyes and reached out to hold them:

"Hongzhao, mother knows that you have an idea in your mind, but don't be too hasty in implementing the new policy. The decrees issued by your father in recent years are still good."

The Hong Zhao in front of him was already in his thirties, with a strong build and a gentle temperament. He inherited his mother's looks, and his handsome face always had a faint smile on it.

"Don't worry, mother. I know in my heart that I have learned well from what Aunt Ji Ying taught me over the years."

Seeing him say this, Tong Nuanyan felt relieved, and then looked at the beautiful woman on the other side.

The beautiful woman had a dignified appearance and one could tell at first glance that she was a lady from a wealthy family. She was from the Cui family of Longxi, and the origin of the Cui family could be traced back to the Sui Dynasty, making it a prominent family.

The reason why the Crown Princess was not from the Manchu military banner, or even the Han military banner, was entirely because Yinzhen strongly advocated the Manchu and Han being one family, and Hongzhao also responded very much. The father and son overcame all objections and married the girl from the Cui family into the Eastern Palace with a grand wedding.

Cui's original name was Cui Mingyue, which was taken from the bright moon in "The spring river tide reaches the sea level, and the bright moon rises with the tide on the sea." Unlike the girls in the boudoir created by the times, Cui Mingyue followed the clan leader to learn how to manage the household since she was a child, and her apparent dignity and elegance were also a disguise.

After receiving the imperial decree granting her marriage, she naturally did not like Crown Prince Hongzhao very much. However, Hongzhao was handsome and gentle like a modest gentleman, and he respected her, the Crown Princess, from the bottom of his heart.

She had been married for five or six years but had never married a concubine. As her mother-in-law, the Empress Dowager was not like the mother-in-law of the family my cousin married. She always found ways to say that my cousin could not have children and refused to let her husband take a concubine, which was a violation of the seven grounds for divorce.

The Queen Mother would not ask about the couple's affairs, and even often sent various good things to the Eastern Palace, such as hand-cranked electric lamps that she had never seen before and mousse cakes that she had never eaten.

Hong Zhao's husband was not as scary as the legend said. He never asked her to bow. Sometimes when she was tired from attending banquets hosted by ladies of high rank, Hong Zhao would take care of her in every possible way.

Maybe it was because her husband was too nice, or because her mother-in-law was easy to get along with, but Cui Mingyue fell in love with Hongzhao as expected. The couple quickly expressed their feelings, and they are still in love after many years of marriage.

Tong Nuanyan was very satisfied with this daughter-in-law. After Hongzhao married Cui Mingyue, he secretly came to her and told her not to make things difficult for his wife. But this made Tong Nuanyan very amused. It turned out that this boy had fallen in love with her during one of his tours.

He plotted against Yinzhen and concealed it from his ministers, and happily married his beloved.

It was also at that time that Tong Nuanyan felt that her son had grown up and began to talk to the other children who were still unengaged.

"When your third brother meets the person he loves, he will make careful arrangements. If you meet the person you love, you should take action when necessary. Do you understand?"

As her memory returned, Tong Nuanyan looked at Cui Mingyue in front of her, her smile not diminishing at all:

"Mingyue, Hongzhao has learned from his father and is arrogant. In fact, mother should have told you earlier that Hongzhao facilitated your marriage. There will be no other woman in the future. You will be together for life, which is great."

Cui Mingyue's eyes were slightly moist. They had been married for twelve years and had no children. Even though her husband and mother-in-law didn't care, the better they were, the more guilty she felt.

"Mother, daughter-in-law..."

Just when she was about to say something, her eyes blurred and she felt that Tong Nuanyan in front of her seemed to smile, and then she lost consciousness.

Her body was held tightly in someone's arms, and the strong heartbeat reminded Cui Mingyue that the person who caught her was her husband Hongzhao.

The coma lasted for three days.

When Cui Mingyue woke up, she had already moved into Kunning Palace. The emperor and the empress dowager had already set out to travel around the world.

Looking at the maid beside her, Cui Mingyue felt something was wrong. After drinking a few sips of warm water, she asked, "What happened in the past few days?"

The maid happily said, "Crown Princess... No, Queen, you are pregnant."

She was a little confused and asked, "What did you call me? Queen?"

The maid nodded quickly and said with certainty: "Yes, the emperor and the empress have already traveled around the world. Now that the crown prince has ascended the throne, you, the crown princess, will naturally be the queen. Queen, don't get too excited. You are already pregnant. Be careful..."

Cui Mingyue was stunned by this surprise. She was a little dazed and kept asking over and over again: "Really? I'm really pregnant?"

Hong Zhao, wearing a bright yellow dragon robe, came in from the door, gently took her into his arms, and said with a smile: "Yes, Mingyue, you are pregnant, we have our own child!"

Cui Mingyue looked at the maid who was laughing beside her, secretly pinched Hongzhao's waist, blushed and tears fell from the corners of her eyes:

"Great! Are you talking about the princess or the prince?"

Hong Zhao held her in his arms, his face showing no sign of impatience, and said softly, "Princess and brother are both good. Mingyue's child will definitely be smart and cute."

The conversation between the two people slowly drifted away from the magnificent Kunning Palace. Even after it had faded away for a long time, one could still hear the gentle conversation between the two people in the hall.

"…Where did you say my father and mother went traveling?"

“…Maybe my mother will take my father away from here and live somewhere else.”

"Somewhere else? Are you going to the continent where Hongxi, Hongxu and the others are?"

“…No, that’s a place none of us have ever been to…”